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From Proxy IDs to Autonomous Payments: Why the Future of Financial Services is Hyper-Efficiency
Despite the rise of digital banking and other technological advancements, financial services are still plagued by significant inefficiencies. Author and serial entrepreneur Arunjay Katakam explores the causes and consequences of these inefficiencies — including their impact on lower-income customers — and discusses some emerging innovations that are addressing them. He explains why the sector's growing efforts to streamline back-end processes, reduce transaction costs and enhance operational efficiency will be pivotal in shaping the future of financial services.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
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Report: Even as Inflation Declines, People in the U.S. Seek Ways To Cope
A recent Financial Health Pulse® survey finds half of people in the U.S. are using four or more strategies to cope with inflation, such as relying on charities or food banks.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- North America
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Does Universal Basic Income Really Work? Understanding the Early Findings from the World’s Largest UBI Experiment, and Their Implications for Financial Resilience
While the concept of Universal Basic Income (UBI) as a poverty solution has been widely debated, there has been limited evidence of its effectiveness. But as Tavneet Suri at MIT and Stella Klemperer at Flourish Ventures explain, that's beginning to change. They share early results from a 12-year randomized control trial exploring the long-term impact of UBI on 23,000 people in 195 villages in rural Kenya — the largest and longest UBI experiment to-date. The findings offer compelling evidence of UBI's impact on financial resilience, and can help inform the design of other UBI and cash transfer programs.
- Categories
- Finance
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Wrap-Around Services Are Changing the Face of Microfinance – For the Better: New Research Shows the Impact of Going Beyond Credit
While loans have always been at the heart of microfinance, credit alone is often not enough to create meaningful impact. To address this, many providers offer additional wrap-around services — from training and health support to savings, insurance and payment solutions — aimed at increasing the impact of their loans. Devin Olmack at 60 Decibels shares findings from 60 Decibels' 2023 Microfinance Index, based on conversations with over 32,000 borrowers across 32 countries, that show the increasing need for a spectrum of services that go beyond microcredit.
- Categories
- Finance
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Press Release: Financial Health Pulse 2023: Share of Financially Vulnerable Americans Grows to 17% of Population, Climbing to Pre-Pandemic Levels
Largest Pulse data collection finds growing financial health inequities based on race, ethnicity, and age.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- North America
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Sweeter Prospects for Cocoa Farmers: A Recent Study Shows How Formal Land Rights Improve the Financial Outlook for Smallholders in Cote d’Ivoire
Cocoa is one of the world’s most prized foods, but the smallholder farmers who produce it typically live in poverty and often lack formal rights to the land they're farming. Scott Graham and Anahit Tevosyan at FINCA International explore how a partnership between global chocolate companies and other industry and development sector players is strengthening farmers' property rights in Cote d’Ivoire — the source of 45% of the world’s cocoa — thereby aiming to improve their financial health and resilience.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Finance
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Report: New Research from Financial Health Network Shows 90% of Working-Age People with Disabilities are Not Financially Healthy
Report also finds that 93% of people with disabilities are unfamiliar with ABLE Accounts, the primary tool offered by the government for building and maintaining assets without losing public benefits.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- North America
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aYo Launches Affordable Microinsurance in Cameroon
African insurtech aYo Holdings has launched its operations in Cameroon with innovative insurance products that offer local consumers affordable accident and death cover.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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